Monday, May 27, 2013

Apple Crumble

One Wednesday, late afternoon...
all of sudden the sky above South Jakarta changed rapidly; the bright sunny sky turned to cloudy gray.
Home alone, I slightly felt tired. I decided to cheer myself up by baking!
Actually I had no specific plan, just wanted to bake something classic, easy, and quick.
I was thinking it would be nice for welcoming my children from school with baked food, since every Wednesday they get home very late due school sport activities.

Crumble : A British name for a blend of berries or other fruit with a textured sugary topping, often with oats; the result is all but synonymous with a crisp.(Martha Stewart Living Magazine, August 2005)

An old fashion fruit dessert on the bowl or plate.

Cobblers, Crisps, Brown-Betty, Buckles, Pan-dowdies, Grunts are other variants of the crumbles. Probably we don't give much attention to its name.. just enjoy, they look alike.

Many people said that it's better to catch the warm, running juices and broken bits of topping of the dessert, but I really enjoy the cold crumble.

Having apples on the fridge, and some basic baking ingredients in the kitchen cupboard,
... Apple Crumbles was the perfect choice.

Heavy rain started to drop to the ground, when I peeled the apples after book-marking the Donna Hay recipe I got from her website. I used local apples; 'Apel Malang' instead of using Green Granny Smith Apples, which is quite expensive in this country; double price of the local apple! Remember, we need about 1 kg apple, not 1-2 apples only.

As I planed before, baking something easy and quick. It didn't take too long, preparation and baking time were completed quickly.

To prevent the apple from turning brown, I soak the peeled apples in a bowl of cold salt water, while preparing the topping.

I prepared 1.5 batch of the topping, the idea is to put more topping on each bowl :)

Additional chopped almonds, cranberries and raisins added more flavor and texture to the dessert.

Using smaller ramekins, I got 8 individual cups of crumbles.

I believe, irresistible desserts don't need a mile-long ingredient list or an elaborate preparation... this tempting crumble proves it. The balancing flavor and the rich texture from the both layers; soft jammy sweet apples and crunchy crumble topping create a delicious evening dessert for us.
And, this dessert is even better dressed up with slightly sweetened whipped cream, or another option, you can serve with vanilla ice cream.

Preheat oven to 160ºC (320ºF).
To make the topping, place the flour, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
Place the apple, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to combine. Spoon the apple mixture into 4 x 1 cup-capacity (250ml) ovenproof dishes, sprinkle over the topping and bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden.

Makes 4.

Remember that I prepared 1.5 batch of the topping. I had some left over of it, I kept in the fridge. Last weekend, I baked another apple crumble using that excess topping. This time, I didn't bake in the individual ramekins, but in one pie pan. Another delicious dessert to be served on Saturday evening while enjoying sunset from our front terrace.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sate Ambal with 'Tempe Sauce'

A few years ago, cooking-grilling sate seemed an impossible mission for me. I didn't even have a courage to imagine about it or pick up the recipe to learn.
Grilling? I had no idea how to start.

About 2 years after I got married, my mom gave me a simple grilling pan that ended up under my kitchen table for a couple of years. The funny thing is... the grilling pan followed us wherever we moved; from cities to towns back to cities, from one country to another, and it was unopened, virgin!

I couldn't remember when exactly I started being so 'brave' and got familiar with simple grilling, but I think it happened when we lived in Mumbai...It's about 10 years after I got married! Surprisingly, I started with grilling 'sate padang', not a simple 'sate ayam'.

Now...here I am, a confident home-cook, who regularly grills delicious sate for my family (only).
Yup, we have a family 'bbq day' almost once a week. Normally, on Friday late evening we sit around the 'simple grilling pan' (that was given by my mom) at our back terrace, enjoying the smokey air, watching the discoloration of the meat, listening sizzling symphony, and ...smelling the fragrant aroma from the grill.
After a week cooking in the kitchen, I know how refreshing it is to take my cooking endeavors outside.
*last 2 weeks I grilled sate in the middle of the week, to give 'a sense of Friday' to my family. Hahaha...

It's last week...I was looking for another type of chicken sate for dinner, not the one that I usually make and had become the all time favorite in our home, the one that using a simple 'secret' ingredients; sweet soy sauce and spoonful crunchy peanut butter (pssstt..and also... I treat the chicken and other ingredients in its best way!), the one that always send me to the higher part of the sky when my husband and kids say,'oh this is the best chicken sate in the world' and every time we have 'not homemade' chicken sate, they keep saying,'I prefer mom's chicken sate'. uhlala!

Oh,... let's have a bit of open minded, and get out from the comfort zone!
I grab my best sate recipe book so far, 'Primarasa Satai Nusantara'. I posted 2 recipes from that book before; Sate Maranggi and Sate Bali. Both beef sate were successful and convinced me to trust this book. Highly recommended.

I was looking for 'chicken' sate recipe, and the first recipe on the book won my heart...Sate Ambal. I had never heard it before. An unique name, have a long list of spice ingredients, and it is served with no peanut sauce, no soy sauce, but... tempe sauce! Let me repeat to avoid a typo: tempe sauce. Big WOW for me, very interesting!

Searching about this dish, I got the information that the name of 'Sate Ambal' came from a place called 'Ambal' that is located in Kebumen Regency, Central Java Province, and the dish is very popular in this place.Hhm... why this delicious dish is not really popular in this country? *curious.

... ready, set,... grill!I started by preparing tempe sauce, and I decided to make 2x recipe in one go. We can predict the flavor from the ingredient list and I thought it would be interesting to have left over sauce to be enjoyed with other food, such as fritters, or probably omelette, latter on. Yup, all the ingredients mixed and turned to be delicious aromatic tempe sauce. Yellowish color, come from the turmeric, slightly sweet from the palm sugar. Clever recipe!

The sate, not difficult to be prepared.
Make sure you have all complete fresh ingredients, it'll turn to a perfect dish. I cut the chicken meat slightly bigger (about 1x1x1.5 cm) and marinated for about 3-4 hours, because I prepared this meal on the afternoon during my other activities and had time to grill for dinner in the evening.
Happy ending... rich of flavor, perfect dish for dinner.

Panggang sate di atas bara api sambil diolesi bumbu, balik-balikkan agar matangnya rata, angkat.
Sajikan sate bersama saus tempe.
-----------------------------------------------------MethodCut the chicken into 1/2x1x1 cm size. Mix well the cooking oil with the ground spices and chicken. Leave for 60 minutes or more to allow the chicken meat absorbing the flavors.Skew 4 pieces of chicken meat in each bamboo skewer until all chicken dices are consumed.Place skewers on the heat grill. Bake with a back and forth and rubbing seasoning until cooked, remove from heat.Served with the Tempe Sauce.

MethodSteam the tempe for +/- 20 minutes, half-smooth mashed in a mortar while still hot and set aside. Ground the garlic, onion, chilli, and turmeric, and stir fry with cooking oil until fragrant.Add the half-smooth mashed tempe, coconut milk, palm sugar and salt, mix well. Lower the heat, cook until the sauce is thick and slightly oily, set aside.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Kue Sus, our Friday Evening Treat.

Friday evening.My children arrived home earlier than other normal school days. 1.5 hours earlier.As soon as they've arrived home, usually they will do everything quickly, without any reminder nor instruction; from cleaning their school bags, emptying their lunch boxes, having shower, drinking afternoon milk (and asking for snacks), ...before doing what they really wait for. My teen daughter wants to watch the 3 PM show at Cartoon Network, and my 'not-so-little-anymore' boy chooses to be busy playing Xbox game.... That happens almost every Friday in our home.

Before they arrive home, usually I start to plan preparing 'sweets' for them.
Something quick and easy snack is the 'target', and not a 'first time' trial. For the last couple of weeks, the sweets were dominated with something chocolaty; brownies and chocolate molten cake is the favorite. So, this time I decided to prepare other sweets with no chocolate on the ingredients. Then I realized that it has been a while I didn't bake Kue Sus, 'choux pastry with custard filling' that very familiar in this country.

Since my very first trial to make Kue Sus, I always use this recipe that I got from a 'very old edition' of Femina Magazine. I'm not exactly sure which year it was published; 14-15 years ago I guess.
With the simple ingredients that always available in my kitchen cupboard, I never fail baking this delicious treat. For me, this is exactly the type of Kue Sus that my Mom used to make when her children were still young.

So, after almost 2-3 years I haven't made this treat, I decided to serve it as my children Friday snack. Both of my children are crazy of custard. So I let them to put the filling by themselves, and enjoying through the evening. I made it a lot, almost 3 dozens. My husband was out of the city... and those dozens were gone on the next morning. The kids love it! so do I...

Little tips that I need to share:
* I used two steel spoons to shape the round pastry, in this way my mom shaped the dough, not using nozzle. I like to see the 'natural shape' of the pastry instead of the uniform 'star' shape.
* I baked the the pastry for 15 minutes in 200 C, then I lowered down the temperature to 160 C for another 10 minutes baking.
Why not 30 minutes? Because I made the pastry balls smaller than the average size (diameter 4 cm). It needs shorter baking time.
The first 200 C is the time for the dough to puff up, than another 10 minutes baking is to strengthen the pastry structure, to hold the hollow that have been formed. Same case when I'm frying 'kerupuk jange' or 'tahu sumedang'. ha..ha... sounds too engineering.

So... that's all for now.
I don't want to make you confuse reading my babble.

Choux Pastry, the'skin'.
1. Boil water, add margarine and sugar. Cook over low heat until the margarine melts. Add the flour, stirring continuously until the dough is cooked and smooth*. Remove from the heat and let the steam is gone.
2. Gradually add 2 eggs into the dough, beating well between each addition, until well combined, and producing a soft dough.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle. Pipe rounds/circular onto baking trays that rubbed with margarine and sprinkled with flour.
Leave enough space among them***. Bake in a hot oven temperature of 200 C for 30 minutes, remove from heat. Set aside.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

[event & review] Food-blogger Gathering @ Ten Ten, Plaza Indonesia

Casual.Stylist.

That is my first impression when I arrived in Ten Ten, Tempura House in Plaza Indonesia, 2 weeks ago. I joined the Indonesian Food-Bloggers gathering (again), meeting 20-something friends, having a cooking class, food tasting and non stop chit-chat.

Dominated by natural wood, the restaurant interior is a perfect spot for our casual get-together. Japanese ambiance can be felt by vertical linings of wood as the wall panels to obstruct vistas. Downlights on the ceiling produce 'just enough' light.

Overall, all the elements create a calm and cozy feeling for customer who are looking for a relaxing atmosphere, warm feeling.
That's a good one, since this restaurant is located in one of the famous big shopping malls in center of Jakarta.

Facts about Ten Ten; * The culinary concept of the restaurant: Tempura House. So ...the specialties menu is...TEMPURA! * Using premium Black Tiger Prawn, the Tempura is cooked with special technique, using special fryer machine to produce consistent textures and delicious best quality tempura.

* The signature menu in the restaurant is Tendon.
In that menu tempura (ebi, bisu fish, green beans, pumpkin, sweet potato, and oba leaves) is served as the topping for the dish and served with miso soup.

* Other than tempura, there are also variant menus from salad, small bites, ala carte, donburi, rice dish, noodle, combo selection, dessert and drink.
In total... there are 164 choices of menu in Ten Ten!!

* There are 2 restaurant outlets; one at Plaza Indonesia and another one is at Pondok Indah Mall 1.

* Kids Menus are available...*very good news. It means this restaurant is 'family friendly' place. High Tea program is available on weekdays, 2-5pm

* Ten Ten is owned by Boga Group.

The Gathering ...
After a nice opening by our friend Tika Hapsari, followed with a welcome speech by Rika Fardani, the marketing manager of Boga Group, we began to learn something interesting.

...We had a Cooking Class,
conducted by Chef Dian Kusyanto, we learned how to prepare and cook good tempura, also to make delicious omurice, the Japanese omelette rice.

Making Tempura

Making Omurice

...Preparing, cutting, 'massaging' the prawn... continue by coating with a 'special flour'.
Then... frying the prawns and all the vegetables that cut with same thickness.
The keys for crunchy, non-greasy tempura are the proper technique and the best ingredients. Interesting.

Then we learned how to prepared the tantalizing omurice. Same thing; ingredients, technique and the cooking time is the key *it's not difficult :). Finally, the fried rice covered by 'thin' omelette, served with tomato sauce, crunchy tempura and demi-glace sauce (rich brown sauce).

...At the end of cooking class, we divided to group of 4-5, and had a cooking competition!
See the pictures below; it is our team so called "The Dream Team" and our "Dreaming Omurise".

It's always nice to enjoy good food together with friends, sit down together, took pictures, chit-chat...
Oow... there was a 'Pannacotta' cooking demo before lunch :)
for sure I'll try to make it at home *looks easy*

It waslunch time already, we started to grab up our omurise when our order came to our table.
Starting with Ebi Yose Katsu, the appetizer. Probably it'll be easier to understand when I call it 'Shrimp Nuggets', served with some chopped vegetable and mayonnaise. It was slightly too dry, since we ate it after watching 'Panna cotta cooking demo'.

And finally, the main course was coming.
There were 3 choices of meals that available during the food tasting.
I confidently ordered Spicy Beef Kinoko Don. I thought we had enough frying food during the cooking class, so let's try other dishes that is prepared with different cooking method.

Spicy Beef Kinoko Don, is a bowl of rice that is served with 'saute' spicy beef and mushroom, and some sliced/chopped vegetables. So happy, I made a right choice. The beef was soft enough, and the spices absorbed nicely into the beef and mushroom. Perfect.
Miso Soup, gave a refreshing tasty warm liquid to the mouth.
My problem is, for me the rice is too much :))

I got a chance to try my friend's Tenbara. A bowl of rice covered by frying chopped chicken and mushroom, with sauce and chopped nori. It's quite good. The size of the topping is perfect for accompanying one spoonful of rice. The combination of all the flavor is very harmonized.

The sweet ending...
they served 2 different dessert cups.Foret Noir cup and Cookie and Cheese cup. Our sweet tooth started to be busy.
I decided to share the dessert with Elsye, so we can try half of each dessert. Clever!

Foret Noire actually is a kind of chocolate cake that popular in French and Germany. Probably it's like Black Forest. But this cups, contain creamy, mousse texture, dark chocolate dessert. If you like some thing dark, deep, and not too sweet, this one is a good choice.

Me? I prefer Cookie and Cheese Cup.
Not too sweet, have a creamy texture combined perfectly with crunchy cookie.
A very beautiful ending for our lunch and gathering.

One thing that I really want to mention, I do like all the cutlery. It's very Japanese :)

Once again, thank you to 'Boga Group' for arranging our gathering.
It's always nice to meet many new friends, enjoying a very good lunch together, ... full of laugh.
--------------------TEN TEN outletsPlaza Indonesia, Level B.Pondok Indah Mall 1, Level 2.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

The Reasons Why You Should Enjoy Indonesian Street Food

Exotic and timeless.
These are the first words that come in my mind when I have to describe about Indonesian street food.
Street food always steals my attention, makes my eyes busy rolling and my sense of smell working harder, especially when I get in a new place, exploring corners of cities, towns or villages.
They are unique, they are colorful, and very appetizing.

Living or only visiting this country, without tasting our street 'soul' food... ohh No!
It'll be an incomplete mission.
Let me tell you 9 reasons why you should try Indonesian Street Food, and having a sensational gastronomy adventure here.

Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay) @Jl. Malioboro, Jogjakarta.

Easy to be found
In this culinary nirvana, street hawkers spread from metropolitan cities to a corner of humble villages. Not only on the streets, the hawkers also can be found in markets, public areas and some of them walking around with their carts or carrying their yoke on their shoulders in housing compounds.
The interesting thing; we can find traditional food from different regions of Indonesia; from different islands, different tribes, and the sellers speak different languages, just around us.
Remember, Indonesia is the largest archipelago country in the world.
The famous Empek-Empek from Palembang (South Sumatra), Mie Kocok Bandung, Tahu Gejrot Cirebon and many many more can be found in the streets of Jakarta. Don't you think it's cool ?
The diversity of freshly made food to choose are almost unlimited.

Reflection of the Culture
For most of Indonesians, not eating rice means not eating yet! So a plate of rice (regardless the way it is prepared) is the most popular breakfast in this country. It's a big complete meal in one dish.
So, don't be surprised to see Chicken Porridge, Lontong Sayur, Kupat Tahu or Nasi Uduk sellers in morning time. It's all about habit, custom and tradition.

As the rice is the 'national' main course, during lunch and dinner time... again the 'rice' with more complete side dishes are the most wanted target. From Nasi Goreng, Pecel Lele (served with rice), Sate Padang (with Ketupat/Lontong) to Nasi Gudeg in Yogyakarta.
Here, the eating culture in this country is represented by the food that available on the 'street'.

Sate Kere (L), Getuk Potong (R) @Solo, Central Java.

Exotic Food.
Indonesia has rich culinary heritages, including exotic street food which are defined as the food that is 'not common'. Not all of street food is exotic, though.
They are unique, they are special, I like call it as treasures, something that always teases & invites us to try. Yes, they are looked unusual, but for sure they are edible.
The range of food types that available in street hawkers are very wide. There is always something new out there to try! Do try Sate Kere from Solo, Rujak Cingur from Surabaya or Oncom Leunca from West Java.
We have many-many exotic food available to try.

Authentic Taste
The authentic taste of Indonesian cuisine is best captured in street food. Some hawkers sell the food for many years, from generation to generation. They know the best ingredients, they cook with proper cooking method and for sure the 'secret' authentic recipes.
Their commitment to quality and purity of the ingredients produce authentic delicious food.
For me, nothing can beat the perfect 'Serabi Oncom' from Pasar Punclut in Bandung where an old lady prepares the dough almost every morning for many years, or the tasty 'Mutton Fried Rice' in Kebon Sirih Jakarta, that have been selling the fried rice since 1958!
Yes, they know exactly how to produce the best food.

Wedang Ronde @Malioboro, Jogjakarta.

Timeless traditional street food
Like fashions, food also has its own transformations, and we're on a decade of food trends. They come and go... but traditional street food has its special place in our heart and tummy for sure.
Their original natural flavor, using local ingredients, consistent with the quality making them stand up straight. It's not strange to see that Wedang Ronde hawkers and Sate Ayam sellers have many customers from evening to night at the end of Malioboro street, Jogjakarta. Or Mie Bakso sellers who always go home with his empty cart at late evening.

Evoke Nostalgia
I was struct by waves of nostalgia when found out there are Sekoteng (Indonesian traditional ginger based hot drink) hawkers walk around in our housing complex (here in Jakarta). Almost every night I used to call him and ordered some bowls like there is no tomorrow. My sense of smell took me down memory lane of my school time in Bandung many years ago.
As smells and tastes can evoke the past, so food that is present in street carts can be easily bring back our memory of childhood or just years before. For anyone who grows up in Indonesia, spent their childhood here, will always miss the street food that used to be popular while they are young.

Es Dawet @Pasar Gang Baru, Semarang, Central Java.

Delicious Food with Reasonable 'cheap' Price for Everyone
The food hawkers survive because customers keep coming, ordering and eating.
The customers keep coming, because the food is delicious and meet their budget, affordable.
... We call it 'symbiosis mutual-ism'.

From the bite size finger food, cold and hot beverages, to the complete set of meal... It's a public secret that Indonesian Street Food are so good. Delicious, tasty, have a nice harmony of flavor.. you name it!
With affordable price, those delicious food can be enjoyed by all levels of the community.
Here, no caste; a bank manager may sit down together with a taxi driver eating Bubur Ayam. All are welcome. Everyone can sit down together, enjoying the beauty of being street food customers.

Cooking Entertainment
I never get bored to watch the 'street cooking entertainment'.
One of the most enthralling sight is the making of Martabak. Balls of oily dough are stretched with a few deft kneads with the heel of palm on a well-oiled stainless steel or marble surface, before it is magically transformed into a large sheet of sheer, membrane-like skin....and continue by frying, pour the filling, folding, frying, cutting, and finally, serving.

The making of Martabak @Ciwidey, West Java

Or watching the making of Kerak Telor; step-by-step the seller put eggs, raw rice, mixing and bake on the upside down pan. It's awesome, isn't it?
There are many more entertainment by the hawkers.

This is a big bonus, ... free entertainment before we enjoy the food.

The making of Kerak Telur @ Kemang Festival, Jakarta.

Preserving the traditional local culinary

At the end...

I have to say that the presence of street food is an important part of every society living in this country. It's a part of our cultures.

It provides livelihood for the hawkers, it presents affordable delicious food for all levels of community, and also it preserves the authentic traditional culinary.

With the good management from the government, Indonesian street food will always live in our heart and happy tummy. Because...